On Sunday, April 27th at 12:10pm, The Shakespeare Theatre Company, recipient of the 2012 Regional Theatre Tony Award®, will present the AsidesLIVE Symposium: Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2. The event will begin at 10:00 a.m. and will go until 1:00 p.m. This intimate and intensive symposium is dedicated to looking at Shakespeare Theatre Company's repertory through different lenses.

The morning event will feature the production's Prince Hal, actor Matthew Amendt, Pulitzer Prize winning playwrightRobert Schenkkan and other special guests. There will be 3 panels each discussing a different aspect of Henry IV, Part 1 and 2. Refreshments will be provided.I'll be taking part in the Writing Our History panel along with Robert Schenkkan, Pulitzer Prize winning playwright of Broadway’s All the Way . STC’s Literary Associate and Production Dramaturg, Drew Lichtenberg, will moderate.

"What is the history play," Lichtenberg ask. "People often throw those words about with complete confidence in the fixity of the genre, but when you look closer, 'the history play' becomes a surprisingly amorphous and constantly evolving term of art. I'm eager and excited to hold up models of the history play, both Shakespearean and contemporary, as we attempt to answer this surprisingly complicated and resonant question."

Here's more information about the "Writing Our History" panel and entire symposium:

About the Moderator

Drew Lichtenberg is the Literary Associate at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C., where he has worked on 13 plays out of the 36-play canon and overseen commissions of new translations and adaptations of classical plays from the global repertory. Previous to joining STC, he spent two seasons at Baltimore Centerstage, and he has worked at the McCarter Theatre Center at Princeton University, Yale Repertory Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and the Public Theater’s Shakespeare Festival in Central Park. He is a Lecturer at the Catholic University of America, and has been a guest teacher at Georgetown University, George Washington University, Carnegie Mellon University, and the Kennedy Center’s KCACTF Festival (since 2011).

About the Panelists

Jacqueline Lawton was named one of the top 30 of the nation's leading black playwrights by Arena Stage's American Voices New Play Institute. She has received commissions from Active Cultures Theater, Discovery Theater, National Portrait Gallery, National Museum of American History, Round House Theatre and Theater J. Ms. Lawton is a member of Arena Stage's Playwright's Arena.

Robert Schenkkan is a Pulitzer-prize winning, Writer's Guild Award winning, Tony-nominated, two-time Emmy nominated writer of Stage, Television, and Film. He is the author of twelve original full-length plays, two musicals, and a collection of one-act plays. He co-wrote the feature film, THE QUIET AMERICAN and his television credits include THE PACIFIC, THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN and SPARTACUS.

AsidesLIVE Symposium: Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2 Agenda

10:10 a.m. – Between Two FathersBoth plays follow the pull of influences on Prince Hal from his royal father and the ignoble Falstaff. This discussion will feature STC’s Prince Hal Matthew Amendt in conversation with Michael Kimmel, the Executive Director of the Center for the Study of Men and Masculinities and George Mason University professor Robert I Matz. Moderated by Hannah Hessel Ratner.

11:10 a.m. – Revisiting the Chimes at MidnightIn 1994, Michael Kahn edited and directed the Henry IV plays to create one evening of performance, featuring many of STC’s favorite performers. Three have returned, taking on new characters in our current repertory production. In this conversation Edward Gero, Ted Van Griethuysen and Craig Wallace reflect on approaching the plays then and now. Moderated by the Assistant Director of the 1994 production: STC’s Director of Education, Samantha Wyer.

12:10 p.m. – Writing Our HistoryShakespeare wrote Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2 approximately 200 years following the historical events depicted. As today’s playwrights approach American history, what can they learn from the Bard? A conversation with Robert Schenkkan, Pulitzer Prize winning playwright of Broadway’s All the Way and local playwright, teacher and theatrical advocate Jaqueline E. Lawton. Moderated by STC’s Literary Associate and Production Dramaturg, Drew Lichtenberg.This multi-hour symposium will look deeply into repertory productions of Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2. Morning refreshments will be served.

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I'm a playwright, dramaturg, and teaching artist. It is here where you'll find my queries and musings on life, theater and the world. My posts advocate for diversity, inclusion, and equity in the American Theatre and updates on my own work. Please enjoy!